1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to machines for laying down and taking up ground covers using reels and particularly to a machine that rapidly lays down a ground cover on a road, secures the cover to the road, and takes up the cover for reuse.
2. Technical Background
Numerous machines have been described which use reel mechanisms to lay down covers on the ground and take them up. Some of these have been for covering baseball fields, football fields, new-laid concrete, winter recreation surfaces, and land fills. Some machines have been described for laying down or taking up plastic piping or grass turf. In those machines, the cover reels cannot raise or lower the cover reel, do not operate with the cover reel on the ground, or do not have a means of pressing the cover reel on the ground. In addition, they may have no means to secure the cover on the ground. Some of these machines may have a high degree of mechanical complexity or require a built-in prime mover.
There exists a need for a practical cover reel assembly that can rapidly apply and fasten a cover to the surface of a road under construction to protect it from rain and other weather conditions, and rapidly retrieve the cover for reuse, or storage. The cover needs to be aligned accurately on the road by uniformly pressing the cover onto the road as the cover is unwound from a reel. The present invention provides a novel, practical means for meeting these needs, particularly to allow construction work to commence immediately after the rain stops rather than having to wait a period of time for an uncovered road bed to dry out.
The present invention is an apparatus for laying down or retrieving a ground cover. The apparatus is useful for rapidly laying a cover over a road or highway to protect the road or highway from rain and precipitation and other weather exposure to reduce the amount of work necessary to repair a road bed from erosion caused by rain. It is also useful for protecting road construction sites, road preparation sites, and excavation sites, and road beds from rain and other weather conditions prior to laying asphalt or concrete. The cover can then be rapidly retrieved by the apparatus when there is no longer a need to cover the road or highway. In one embodiment, the invention has a first frame which can be attached to a prime mover such as a forklift or tractor. The first frame has pivotal support arms which are attached to a second frame and a cover reel. Hydraulic means are also connected between the first frame and pivot support arms to raise and lower the cover reel and second frame. Alternatively, the hydraulic means are positioned between the prime mover and first frame and the cover reel is lowered to the ground by simply rotating the first frame forward. Cable reels with cables or chains, having a motor/transmission assembly, are located on the first frame. The frame holding the cover reel may have arms to provide a tension bar or rollers in front of and in back of the cover reel. The tension bar or roller in front of the cover reel may include a brush mechanism to clean the underside of the cover.
The cover on the reel can be lowered to the ground and laid onto the road by the action of the prime mover pushing the cover reel forward, freely unwinding the cover over the tension or roller bar. The cables or chains will unwind freely from behind the cover reel and serve to hold the cover in a fixed position on the ground by laying on the cover 6xe2x80x3 to 18xe2x80x3 from each edge of the cover to prevent wind from blowing the cover off the ground. A downward pressing force can be applied to the cover reel by the action of the hydraulic means to facilitate unwinding and alignment of the cover on the ground. The ground cover can be rewound and taken up onto the cover reel by a reverse process. The cover is passed over the tension bar and attached to the cover reel. The cover reel is then pushed forward by the prime mover, winding up the cover as the cover reel rotates. Simultaneously, the cables or chains are rewound on the cable reels by action of the cable reel motor/transmission assembly. In both procedures of laying down or taking up the cover, downward pressing force can be applied to the cover reel by the hydraulic means to facilitate winding, unwinding, and alignment of the cover on the ground or on the cover reel. However, the weight of the cover reel itself may be sufficient to do this.
In an alternative embodiment, the invention has a first frame which can be attached to a prime mover. A second frame is attached rotatably to the first frame and a third frame is attached rotatably to the second frame. Hydraulic means are connected between the first and second frames to raise and lower the second frame. The second frame contains a cover reel with a ground cover which is wound or unwound by a motor/transmission assembly connected to the first frame. The second frame also contains a brush/guide mechanism. The third frame contains a motor/transmission assembly which winds or unwinds cables from cable reels connected to the third frame. There is a hydraulic means between the first and third frames to raise and lower the third frame. In this embodiment, the cover is laid down by pulling the unit on the ground behind the prime mover. The cover and cables or chains are attached at one end to the ground and unwind freely as the unit is pulled away. The cover is taken up by pulling the unit behind the prime mover. The cables or chains are taken up by activating the motor/transmission assembly. The prime mover is driven at a speed to facilitate taking up or laying down a cover without a backlash. The cover can also be taken up by activating the cover reel motor/transmission assembly after raising the cover reel off the ground. In both procedures of laying down or taking up the cover, downward pressing force can be applied to the cover reel by the hydraulic means to facilitate winding, unwinding, and alignment of the cover on the ground or on the cover reel. The downward pressing force of the present invention makes it possible to lay the cover rapidly and accurately.
One advantage of the present invention is to provide a cover reel assembly that can apply a ground cover to the ground at a rate not less than 200 feet per minute and simultaneously lay down cables or chains on top of the ground cover at the desired location on the ground cover.
Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a cover reel assembly that can take up a ground cover and the cables or chains from the ground at a rate not less than 200 feet per minute.
A further advantage of the present invention is to provide a cover reel assembly that employs a cover reel on the ground and that can apply a downward pressing force on the reel to facilitate winding, unwinding and alignment of the cover on the ground or on the cover reel.
A yet further advantage of the present invention is to provide a cover reel assembly that can rapidly lay down and take up the ground cover, and the cables or chains that lay on the cover, by pushing the cover reel.
Still a further advantage of the present invention is to provide a cover reel assembly that can lay down and take up the ground cover, and the cables or chains that lay on the cover, by pulling the cover reel.